It was a great week and I have so many reasons to be grateful...........
.....Our school runs on a six day cycle so Monday is not always "A" day. This week Monday was actually "D" day and so I continued some of the activities with new classes that I had started the week before. One of those activities was combining dribbling practice with spelling practice. One of my second grade classes was working on this activity and when I asked a student which word he spelled he said "Pride". When I commented that it was a great word and asked why he chose that word he showed me that he was using a ball that had Character Education traits written on it and PRIDE was clearly spelled out! What a great problem solving strategy!
.....I also continued a Tabata warm-up that I had been using the week before and I giggled when I heard one of my kindergarten students say: "OK team! Follow me!" Is she a leader in the making???? I think so!
.....I have many opportunities to share ideas with my colleagues and recently I shared how I use Plickers with my students to assess learning. I always hope what I share has use and value for others. This week I learned that one of my colleagues is so excited about Plickers and uses it everyday! It makes me happy to know that someone else is as excited about Plickers as I am and it also reminds me that sharing our knowledge makes us all stronger.....
.....Students in all grades are learning about different ways to bounce and dribble a ball and older students are learning about the knowledge, skills, and values needed for the sport of basketball. As one of my second graders was practicing her skills she came up to me and said: You know, basketball is actually Math!" She went on to tell me that angles were really important in basketball for bouncing and shooting the ball. I was shocked that she knew so much about the connection between Math and Basketball and I asked her where she learned that. She responded that she learned it by watching a TV show! She asked if she could share her knowledge with the class. At the end of class she did just that and impressed us all!
.....My first graders were practicing bouncing a ball to a partner and playing a game where the object was to hit a fluff ball on the bounce. It is a simple yet fun game and the students were having a great time. I overheard one of the students really getting into the game as he asked to see the instant replay in slow motion!
.....Later in the week I set up a variety of stations so that students could practice their ball handling skills in a fun and exciting way. In the younger classes, students were allowed to choose how they would spend their PE time by choosing which areas they were most interested in, as long as they were working on the class goals. As I stood back a bit to observe each class work on the goals it struck me how different each class and each student is. No two classes were alike and just when I began to think that a station area was not that popular and that I should make some changes, a group of students arrived to the area and enjoyed it tremendously!
.....As a first grade class came into the gymnasium and saw all of the equipment set up for the stations a student said: "You worked hard on this!" I just smiled and felt good that my hard work was appreciated! We have so much wonderful equipment and I try to remember to be grateful but when I see that my students are grateful it warms my heart.........
.....A tremendous amount of excitement this past week had to do with the anticipation of Circus Week. The National Circus Project is coming to North Park during the week of March 7-11 and everyone is so excited! I set up a display case in our lobby with spinning plates, clowns, stilts, juggling equipment, and pictures of popcorn and circus tickets. I had fun setting it up but even more fun seeing the faces of the students and staff as they realized that Circus Week was coming soon! Stay tuned for the Best Parts of My Week next week as it will surely be filled with moments from this special week!
I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"! Visit my website: North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.
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